Dyslexic in America and Depression

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, somebody asked me an interesting question. Does being dyslexic ever depress me, I have been thinking about this question for several weeks now it has made me reflect on lots of points in my life. Until the age of 12 years old I had a highly explosive temper and would go off the edge at the slightest provocation. After years of having other kids make fun of me, adults calling the illiterate and a educational system that had no clue on how to, educate a person with dyslexia. My mind must've built its own self-defense mechanism just about the time I turned 12. My whole personality seemed to change and an instant. It became impossible to gauge any emotion from me at all. It seemed if I no longer cared about what anybody in the world thought about me. But my grandmother called it "the lost of all innocence" some other people would say my heart turned to stone.

As my circle of people grows, who faces the unique challenges of dyslexia there are quite a few things that do concern me. But hopefully with education and a loud outcry from the many millions of voices impacted by dyslexia and other learning disabilities, we can come together and change the future for all of our children and grandchildren there seems to be lots of recurring themes that I come across day after day.



• The lack of willingness of the educational system to recognize or help individuals with distinct learning disabilities like dyslexia


• The unwillingness of the federal and state governments to abide by ADA laws 504 and others ( a couple weeks ago one of the people who reads my blog sent me a letter from EEOC out of Buffalo where basically the director said they would not file a discrimination case against the employer because it would be hard to win. there was no consideration if the law was broken the new mantra for EEOC seems to be we only fight the cases we can win. civil rights are no longer the reason organizations like EEOC and other government entities exist.)



• The lack of educational materials and counseling and support groups for parents with a child with the gift of dyslexia.


So back to the original question do I ever get Depress, I have come to the conclusion in my life I do not have the right to be depress



• I am an African-American male that holds three college degrees



• Live in a house that me and the bank owns


• Have a lovely wife and a son


• Enjoy a robust relationship with most of my family


• enjoy going to church



• Highly enjoy being a mason



• Who can reasonably meet all of their expenses every month and have the ability to put a little bit of money away for retirement.



So for those reasons above I fill I do not have the right to be depress. Over situations but just to leave everything to a higher power and do what I Truly considers is the right thing at all time. The one thing in my life I truly refuse to give up is the higher ground (what is the higher ground to me it is the place when all individuals truly look at what is best for overall society and not just their own self interests).



PS I will dedicate the year 2010 to disseminating any information that might help people out there dealing with the gift of dyslexia. Please realize I will need all the help out there that I can get from people who have gone through situations and are willing to share with others. I do not believe this is a battle that individuals can fight alone. We must come together as one loud voice stand our ground protect our children and grandchildren and change the educational model in the United States of America to understand different is not bad different is what truly made the United States of America the great country it is today. Would we lose the minds of Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da Vinci in today's society due to the fact that they could not read well this is the question we must ask one another?